Dambai (O/R)-Ghana Jan. 20, GNA – Mr Joshua Gmayenaam Makubu, the Oti Regional Minister, has asked media practitioners in the region to be ethical and responsible in their reportage in the interest of national development and cohesion.
He said the tenets of journalism enjoined practitioners to provide the public with balanced, accurate and factual information whilst adhering to professional integrity and circumspection.
Mr Makubu made these remarks at a media soiree in Dambai, organised by the Oti Regional Coordinating Council (ORCC), to show its appreciation to journalists over the period.
He cautioned practitioners against sensational and unbalanced reportage as it had the proclivity to paint a negative image of the newly created region.
Negative headlines reflected a bad image of Oti to the outside world, he said, adding that it scared investors from the region, inhibiting its efforts at achieving the needed growth, he noted.
ACFO Prince Billy Anaglate, the Oti Regional Fire Commander, urged the media to use their platforms to campaign against bush burning to preserve the environment.
He said the canker could be reduced, if not eliminated, with joint efforts of stakeholders and that indiscriminate bush burning destroyed the forest vegetation and accounted for erratic rainfall patterns.
Mr Anaglate called on community members, especially herdsmen, farmers, hunters and charcoal burners to desist from indiscriminate bush burning to preserve the forests and save lives and property.
Some of the media practitioners lamented the neglect of the media in some activities of the ORCC and called for cordial and working relations.
Mr Israel Tosu, a journalist, appealed to the Regional Minister to help the media acquire a mini-bus to facilitate work in the region.
